Fires on vessels still one of the biggest safety issues for shipping industry

• AGCS Safety & Shipping Review: The number of fires on board large vessels has increased significantly in recent years. Third top cause of shipping losses over the past decade.
• There was a record 40 cargo-related fire incidents alone in 2019 or one every 10 days. Fires resulting in total losses hit a four-year high of 10 at the end of 2020 – accounting for around one in five total losses around the world.
• RoRo and car carrier vessels can be more exposed to fire and stability issues than other vessels, and require additional emphasis on risk management.

Although shipping losses have halved over the past decade[1], fires on board vessels remain among the biggest safety issues for the maritime industry, as demonstrated by incidents this week involving the Felicity Ace cargo/RoRo ship, which caught fire in the Atlantic while carrying thousands of cars and the Euroferry Olympia passenger ferry fire off the coast of Greece.

Analysis from Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS)’ annual Safety & Shipping Review report shows that the number of fires on board large vessels has increased significantly in recent years. There was a record 40 cargo-related fire incidents alone in 2019 or one every 10 days. Across all vessel types, the number of fires/explosions resulting in total losses hit a four-year high of 10 at the end of 2020– accounting for around one in five total losses around the world.

“The shipping industry has seen its safety record improve significantly over the past decade with the number of total losses now at record lows,” says Captain Rahul Khanna, Global Head of Marine Risk Consulting at AGCS. “However, fires on car carriers, Roll-on/Roll-off ferries (RoRos), container ships and other vessels remain among the biggest worries for the sector, as demonstrated by the recent rise in incidents.

“RoRo and car carrier vessels in particular can be more exposed to fire and stability issues than other vessels, and require additional emphasis on risk management. To facilitate carriage of automobiles the internal spaces are not divided into separate sections like other cargo ships. The lack of internal bulkheads can have an adverse impact on fire safety and a small fire on one vehicle or battery can grow out of control very quickly. Vehicles are not easily accessible once loading has been completed. The large volume of air inside the open cargo decks provides a ready supply of oxygen in case of fire. At AGCS, we look deeply into the risk management of operators and have worked with a number of companies operating ro-ro vessels to agree a robust risk management program.”

Other relevant findings from the AGCS Safety & Shipping Review:

• Notable recent incidents include - the RoRo cargo ship, the Grande America, which sank after its cargo of vehicles and containers caught fire in March 2019. In June 2020, a blaze on the car carrier Höegh Xiamen lasted for eight days before it was extinguished, while RoRo passenger ferry Cruise Bonaria also suffered a fire.
• Fire/explosion is the third top cause of total losses of shipping vessels over the past decade (2011 to 2020) with 99 reported total losses, accounting for around 11% of total losses overall. The two top causes of total losses are foundered (54%) and wrecked/stranded (20%).
• Cargo vessels account for 40% of total losses over the past decade. (348 out of 876). Passenger/cruise ships account for less than 10% (69 out of 876).
• Fires on board vessels is the fifth top cause of shipping incidents overall around the globe – There have been over 1,700 reported incidents over the past decade (across all vessel types), accounting for around 7% of all reported incidents.
• Container ship fires often start in containers, which can be the result of non-declaration or mis-declaration of hazardous cargo, such as chemicals and batteries. When mis-declared, these might be improperly packed and stowed on-board, which can result in ignition and/or complicate detection and firefighting. The larger the number of containers on board, the higher the probability that at least one could ignite and cause a fire, and the harder it is to contain and extinguish it. Another contributing factor is the fire detection and fighting capabilities relative to the size of the vessel. Vessels continue to become larger every year and major incidents have shown fires can easily get out of control and result in the crew abandoning the vessel on safety grounds, thus increasing the size of the eventual loss. Awareness of this problem has been growing, but it is still a major concern.

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Could you outline some of the reasons why the number of fires on board large vessels has risen in recent years, despite significant efforts to boost safety in the industry?

Captain Rahul Khanna, Global Head of Marine Risk Consulting at Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS)

Every year Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) analyses the latest trends and developments in shipping losses in our annual Safety & Shipping Review. The good news – total losses have been at historic low levels for the last three years we have analysed. Annual shipping losses have halved over the past decade (98 in 2011 compared to 49 at the end of 2020). Meanwhile, the number of annual shipping incidents is also in decline. However, fires on car carriers, Roll-on/Roll-off carriers (RoRos), container ships and other vessels remain among the biggest worries for the sector, as demonstrated by the recent rise in incidents, including the Felicity Ace cargo/RoRo ship, which caught fire in the Atlantic while carrying thousands of cars and the Euroferry Olympia passenger ferry fire off the coast of Greece.

AGCS analysis shows that the number of fires on board large vessels has increased significantly in recent years. There was a record 40 cargo-related fire incidents alone in 2019 or one every 10 days. Across all vessel types, the number of fires resulting in total losses hit a four-year high of 10 at the end of 2020 – accounting for around one in five total losses around the world. Fires on vessels is also a new entry in the top five risks for the shipping sector (ranking 3rd), according to the Allianz Risk Barometer 2022, which surveys 2,650 risk management experts from around the world to identify their top risks for the coming year.

RoRo and car carrier vessels in particular can be more exposed to fire and stability issues than other vessels, and require additional emphasis on risk management. To facilitate carriage of automobiles the internal spaces are not divided into separate sections like other cargo ships. The lack of internal bulkheads can have an adverse impact on fire safety and a small fire on one vehicle or battery can grow out of control very quickly. Vehicles are not easily accessible once loading has been completed. The large volume of air inside the open cargo decks can provide a ready supply of oxygen in case of fire. Therefore, fires can take a considerable time to be extinguished.

A more wider issue is that vessels continue to become larger every year and vessel size has a direct correlation to the potential size of loss. The size of container ships in particular has increased exponentially over the past 50 years –carrying capacity alone has grown by almost 1,500% during this time, while crew numbers have declined. The reality is that firefighting capabilities on board and regulations have not kept pace with the growth of the vessels to ensure the preservation of the vessel itself. In many cases crew are unable to carry out fire-fighting on small fires simply because they are either unable to reach the location of the fire or do not have sufficient means to extinguish them. Looking for the base of a fire in a stack of 20,000 containers is a very difficult task. A fire is best tackled in the first few minutes of it starting as it becomes progressively more difficult to fight. Small fires can become very large in a matter of minutes if not contained. Fires often start in containers, which can be the result of non-/mis-declaration of hazardous cargo, such as chemicals and batteries. When mis-declared, these then might be improperly packed and stowed on board, which can result in ignition and/or complicate detection and firefighting. Major incidents have shown container fires can easily get out of control and result in the crew abandoning the vessel on safety grounds, thus increasing the eventual size of loss.

What measures could carriers implement to reduce the risk of fire on these large vessels?

Regarding RoRos and car carriers, there have been a number of accident investigations concerning these vessels that have revealed that pre-sail away stability checks were either not carried out as required or were based on inaccurate cargo information. In many cases cargo was not fully-secured prior to sailing. Inadequate lashing of cargo such as electric vehicles for example could lead to a thermal runaway and ensuing fire. At least for cargo RoRo and vehicle carriers, improved cargo securing and weather routing should be considered. At AGCS, we look deeply into the risk management of operators and have worked with a number of companies operating RoRo vessels to agree robust risk management programs.

Insurers such as Allianz and the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) have long warned of safety concerns around this topic and are promoting improved ship design and fire-fighting equipment and the importance of correct declaration, handling and storage of cargo, all of which can greatly reduce the risk of fire at sea. A paper has been submitted to the IMO by a working group of insurers with suggestions on the improvement of fire safety measures on board container vessels. Owners need to consider the enhanced fire risks of these vessels in the design process and incorporate fire prevention and mitigation features at a very early stage.

Failure to adequately address this issue will likely result in the recent trend of a growing number and severity of fires on board large vessels continuing. Too many times commercial considerations have endangered vessels and their crew and it is vital that this is addressed both on shore and on board.